Ontario council approves steps for eminent domain to improve two crossing crossings

ONTARIO - Time is running out on the city in its efforts to eliminate long waits for motorists at two railroad crossing, with $100 million in state funding at risk.

The holdup is the city's inability to negotiate the sale of adjacent land needed for the bridge projects.

To make this happen, the City Council last week authorized city officials to use eminent domain if they cannot come to terms with property owners near the two train crossings on South Milliken Avenue near Mission Boulevard and North Vineyard Avenue just south of Holt Boulevard.

Otto Kroutil, director of the city's Development Agency, said Ontario would prefer to settle the issue out of court because at risk are two state grants totaling more than $100 million.

If the city can not prove to the state by March that is has obtained the rights-of-way on the projects it will lose the funding and likely delay them indefinitely, he said.

"No one on this council takes eminent domain lightly," said Councilman Alan Wapner. "However we are on a very tight timeline as far as getting it started and pushing this forward. There is a lot of state funding that is at stake, and we don't want there to be a chance at losing it."

The Milliken grade separation will eliminate the at-grade crossing by elevating the thoroughfare over the trains adjacent to Mission. The second project on Vineyard features an underpass configuration and a two-track bridge just south of Holt.

The two projects:

There are four properties impacted by the Vineyard grade separation project.

Ontario obtained appraisals for the properties and has made the offers to the property owners through a consulting firm. Only one agreement has been reached,

The affected properties are on both sides of Vineyard, north of Holt to Airport Drive.

The city is seeking several easements from the property owners. One of the most pressing is a temporary construction easement, during which a business cannot use the property.

The temporary construction easements would run from January 2014 through the end of 2015.

Depending on the size of the property, Ontario would pay the owners a prorated amount starting at $674 a month to $1,557 a month.

Ontario has obtained a$53 million grant for the North Vineyard project. The grant pays for about 80 percent of the costs, the city the remainder, Wapner said.

Milliken

There are eight affected properties located on both sides of Milliken near the tracks.

The city, which has obtained a $66 million grant for this project, has been unable to reach agreements with the owners.

Depending on their location and size, the temporary easement will cost the city between $120 a month to $4,687 a month for access to the easement. The time frame for the easements will vary in length. Some will not exceed two months while others are expected to last about six months.

But lawyers for the two of the property owners opposed the grade separation, saying the work could put them "out of business."

"We need to work on a resolution that works for National Metals and works for the city. This project is going to put National Metals out of business," said Erik Friess, attorney for the firm.

He said the detours during construction would reduce accessibility to the business and impact their operations.

Doug Evertz, attorney with JW Mitchell, the company that owns property in the impacted area, also raised concerns about the traffic circulation during construction. Evertz was also there representing its tenant, Kmart distribution center.

Evertz said the Kmart facility supports about $50 million of business on a monthly basis. The current design of the project, he said, will have a significantly adverse impact not only on the property but business operations.

"We did submit a proposed design alternative and did meet with staff and consultant, and we did have a very productive meeting," he told the council.

With the alternative design yet to be approved, Evertz asked the city to hold off on their vote until one was made.

Kroutil acknowledged city staff is reviewing the proposals but could comment beyond that.

Mayor Paul Leon said the city just wants to make sure everyone is treated fairly in the process but there are many issues besides just making traffic flow quicker.

Trains are now reaching two miles in length, and if they are stopped at an intersection, could pose a safety barrier, Leon said. He added that at-grade crossing makes it difficult for safety services to get around in an emergency.

"This is not the time to slow down the already square wheels of government and make sure this goes as quickly as possible," Leon said.